


Expressions - Garrus

by PerseusHuntress



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-09-06 13:53:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,604
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16833928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerseusHuntress/pseuds/PerseusHuntress
Summary: Prompts: When A realized they were in love with B, when did B realise the same thing. Any pairing :)





	Expressions - Garrus

He never noticed when the Normandy became home. The transition was so subtle that it sailed passed him without leaving a mark on his consciousness. The walls that once were so alien and constricting became familiar, the scratch by the elevator doors bore traces of Tali’s over eager rush to the cargo bay when Shepard called to arms. The dark speckles that spilled in patterns in front of the silent Mako, a reminder of Wrex’s zealous bloody mindedness, when Garrus had to drag the Krogan to the infirmary only for Chakwas to huff in exasperation in response to his pleas for help. Memories filled the entire ship to the brim. To pin point the instant of revelation in all that chaos and eddies of memories, would have been impossible. He simply woke up one morning knowing, the Normandy was his, she was home.

Laugher drifted towards him from the weapons bench, snapping him back to reality. The Mako needed tuning again. Why Shepard insisted on trying to climb those damn mountains on Edolus, those rocks blew the suspension to shit. She laughed manically when he screamed at her to stop trying to kill them “No pain no gain Vakarian! I can totally do this!” Tali was visibly shaking next to him. His subhamonics rumbled as he smirked at the memory.

“Skipper, you can’t just say that!” Ash snorted from the other side of the cargo bay.

“I do what I want Chief, it my ship” Shepard’s voice rang with amusement.

Garrus looked up from his console, curious at what the humans were talking about.

Shepard was facing away from him, her posture relaxed as she leaned back on one leg. Ashley noticed the Turian watching them and squeezed an eye shut, Shepard realised her chief’s attention was else where and followed her gaze.

Their eyes met. Shepard’s smile spread and crinkled her eyes. Her blazing red hair framing her face. The face he had seen harden to granite when screaming orders on the battle field, now turned soft, delicate and something else? Humans were difficult, their features far too expressive for a turian to make proper sense of. His people communicated what limited emotion they required through their subharmonics, there was never any need for lifting of brow plates, though he liked that one. Shepard did that a lot. He tried to copy her once, she just patted him on the arm and told him to keep practising.

The Commander broke eye contact and turned back to Ashley. And odd sensation ran though him. He couldn’t put his finger on it, like a shiver all down him. Where did that come from? He shook his head trying to dislodge it.

“Vakarian?” one brow was quirked up, examining him. “You okay?” he didn’t see Shepard approach whilst he was trying to work out what was happening to him.

“I, yes, I mean yes, fine. Sorry lost in thought.” his subharmonics sounded oddly discordant with his voice.

“Good, I need you” she said, briefly distracted by brushing an errant strand of hair out of her eyes. His subharmonics reverberated, his eyes widened in shock. She chose to ignore it, or she simply didn’t notice. “You’re coming with me, Virmire next. The slarians have a lead on Saren”

“My rifle is yours” he blinked in confusion. What the hell was that? What was this nonsense he was spewing.

Shepard’s brows knotted. “Garrus, are you sure you are okay? Is this about Saleon?”

He shook his head “No, definitely not. I am fine. Really. Ready to go. Well almost. The Mako needs some more calibration, you’ve managed to wreck this thing again.”

“So judgemental Vakarian” her eyes crinkled again. “See you in a bit Garrus, need to raise our little quarian too, be ready” she turned on her heels and headed to engineering. He watched her go, she never called him by his proper name before. As she neared the elevator his eyes followed her, noting the way that her hips swung as she walked, the soft curves of her waist exaggerated in the harsh light spilling from the EzoCore.

“Huh”

* * *

The Normandy was silent. It was the middle of the night cycle, but the silence was deeper. They lost Ash on Virmire. The crew was in shock, the humans bumped into each other, apologised quietly and separated, hiding in corners of the ship, carefully avoiding Ashley’s work space in the cargo bay, even Wrex kept a respectful distance.

Shepard’s silence was most palpable. She said nothing as they returned to the Normandy, walked straight into her cabin and locked it, no one saw her since.

Kaiden tried to talk to her, pleading with her to come out. Liara hammered on her door. Nothing.

He spoke to Tali in hushed tones, the quarian was shaken to the core by the events. But this was hours ago.

Garrus sat in the mess hall, contemplating the cold plate of food in front of him. The rest of the team went to sleep, some with Chakwas’s help, others collapsed into soundless sleep through sheer exhaustion. Garrus did not want either. He just stared at the plate before him. Only hours ago he saw the Gunnery Chief laughing with Shepard. Just hours. He’s never lost anyone this close. C-Sec was a comfortable and relatively safe posting, the worst he ever saw were flesh wounds, none fatal.

He heard the door open, instinctively he looked towards the med-bay.

“Over here” Shepard’s voice was ragged.

His eyes snapped to her, her easy posture of earlier gone. She was clutching herself round the middle, as if trying to cradle a wound.

He sprang to his feet “Shepard, are you hurt?!”

“No, just trying to hold it together. Today. Well. Today really” she sighed. “Mind if I join you?”

“Do you really have to ask?” he sat down and moved a chair out for her. She seemed so fragile, her movements jagged, all fight gone out of her. A low growl escaped him, anger welling up suddenly.

She exhaled heavily as she sat next to him.

“I am not going to bother asking. Do you want some food? You haven’t eaten since this morning. I… err… only have this…” he pushed his cold plate toward her apologetically.

She examined the dextro food in front of her gingerly and then looked into his eyes. “You know it’s not advisable for me to eat this? You trying to finish me off Garrus?” she almost smiled. Her eyes were rimmed with red, glossy and wet. She’s been crying. Of course she has been crying. Rage reared its ugly head again, he growled quietly.

“Hey, no need for that. I can take a bite if it will make you happy.” she didn’t break eye contact, she wasn’t afraid. It was something else. Damn humans with their stupid expressions, he will need to look that one up when he had a chance.

He sighed resigned to his own ignorance of nuance. “What would make me happy, is knowing that you’re okay. Spirits know I would do anything to keep you from this disaster.”

Her eyebrows raised and her mouth opened, her lips making a soft little o.

“What? Did I say something wrong?” He tilted his head to the side. “I am sorry, I am still learning to read human expressions, I didn’t mean anything by it”

Shepard shook her head. “No, no, of course not. I just didn’t expect that”. She prodded at the food in front of her. A veil of hair hiding her from him. Silence hung between them. Garrus was thinking franticly of something to say, he was struggling for words. Shepard broke the silence first.

“Do you think I made the right call?” he still couldn’t see her face but her voice was heavy.

“There is no right or wrong in this Shepard. You made a difficult call, there was no other way.” he lowered his head to her level, speaking softly.

“What if I sent you after Ash and went after Kaidan myself? What if there was another way?” she spoke sinking lower in her chair, her arms squeezing tighter around her middle. “What if we could have saved her…” her voice was warbling now.

“What ifs do not matter Shepard. There are no what ifs in battle, you do all you can and hope against hope that it turns out okay. Do not blame yourself for this, don’t you dare. You did everything in your power, and sometimes things, well they just don’t work.” he moved closer to her, reached out to her, his hand shaking. Why was his hands shaking?! “Shepard, there is no one in this galaxy who could do what you do, there is no one like you” his voice was soft, subharmonics gently humming. His hand closed the distance and brushed the sheet of hair away from her face. A shock went through him as he accidentally brushed her face, silent tears made tracks on her cheeks. She was so small, so brave, his words caught in his throat as he realised the truth of his own words. There was no one in the entire galaxy like her, no one so fierce, so loyal, so gentle.

She looked up at him, her face scrunched in absolute agony and she flung herself into his outstretched arm still frozen from the shock of revelation.

As he drew her, sobbing, onto his lap, that was the moment he knew, he wouldn’t hesitate give his own life for her, he would move galaxies to protect her from this pain. He knew he loved her.


End file.
